title: 5-HT and depression: is the glass half-full?
abstract: Mood disorders such as major depression are common illnesses with considerable morbidity and significant mortality. A long-standing theory is that a breakdown in brain serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) signalling is critically involved in the symptoms and drug treatment of clinical depression. However, the nature of this 5-HT defect has proved to be frustratingly elusive, and it remains unclear how the 5-HT signalling effects of antidepressant drugs might alter neuropsychological mechanisms to bring about relief of depressed mood. This article highlights recent discoveries that advance our understanding of how 5-HT-evoked changes at molecular, cellular and neuropsychological levels might interact to alleviate the symptoms of clinical depression.
authors.affiliation: University Department of Pharmacology, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3QT, UK. trevor.sharp@pharm.ox.ac.uk
authors.forename: Trevor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sharp
authors.forename: Philip J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Cowen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D012701:Serotonin